Reasonable accommodations can include a number of options.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employees with disabilities are entitled to certain protections in the workplace. This includes the ability to request reasonable accommodations from their employers to help them better perform their job duties.
According to an employment discrimination attorney, reasonable accommodations can take a number of forms. As a general rule, reasonable accommodations are some form of modification or adjustment to the workplace or work schedule to give an employee with a disability the ability to perform the essential functions of his or her job. Under federal law, employers are required to provide employees with disabilities with reasonable accommodations as long as it would not be an undue hardship on the employer.
While the law is clear about the mandate for reasonable accommodations, it does not spell out what a reasonable accommodation must be. That is because a reasonable accommodation will look different in almost every situation, based on the employee’s disability and the employer’s workplace. As an employment discrimination attorney can explain, there are almost limitless possibilities for reasonable accommodations. They include:
- Permitting an employee to bring a service animal to work to help an employee with a disability perform his or her job duties;
- Modifying existing facilities to make them accessible for employees with disabilities, such as by installing ramps, making restrooms accessible, or modifying office equipment or furniture;
- Moving the job location to allow for an employee’s needs, which may include allowing an employee to work from home or at a different, more accessible worksite;
- Restructuring schedules or the job itself to accommodate an employee, such as by permitting an employee with a disability to work a different shift, redistributing nonessential job functions, or building in additional breaks into the work day;
- Providing assistive devices, such as dictation software or recording devices to help an employee perform his or her job duties; or
- Changing work policy or rules, such as allowing an employee with a health condition to have snacks at work even if that is generally disallowed.
These are just some examples of the types of accommodations that can be made to allow an employee with a disability to perform his or her job function. The type of accommodation that will be necessary will depend on the specific situation, as an employment discrimination attorney can explain. What might be reasonable for one employee and employer might not be feasible for another employer and might not be sufficient for another employee. The most important aspect is that the employer engage in a good faith process to determine if a reasonable accommodation can be made. If an employer fails to do so, then it may have violated federal and/or state law.
At PLBH, our dedicated team of employment discrimination attorneys is devoted to protecting the rights of employees. We work hard to ensure that our clients get justice if they are discriminated against or wrongfully terminated on the basis of their disability. Contact us today at (800) 435-7542 or info@plblaw.com if you believe that your employer has failed to provide you with a reasonable accommodation for your disability.